Um, Do You Have The Wrong Room?
by Musical Skater
Summary: After getting into a scrap with Steve at school, Jim spends his day after school at the hospital like he spent a lot of his time as a kid. Since he's almost always there, he likes to lend a helping hand. Due to the hospital being busy, he's ask to keep a patient distracted. What he was not expecting was the girl to be absolutely breathtaking. *Hiatus*
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! Like I said on one of my main stories, I've been wanting to get myself back into writing a little more by writing a couple of random stories/one-shots and I saw this random prompt online where it said "Character A and Character B meet each other in the hospital on Christmas Eve" and I decided to my own little twist on it. This isn't Christmas related, but meh, sue me. XD Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this! **

Every since I was young, the hospital became a second home to me. If I wasn't there just to see mom or when she wasn't able to get me a baby sister, I was probably on one of the gurneys. It wasn't because I was a troublesome kid, but more because I could never figure out how to not get hurt. When I was a kid, I would always find a way to get hurt in some way. May it be falling from a tree, trying to jump the canal on my bike, or just tripping down the stairs, I found a way somehow to get hurt. Nowadays, it's more like I can't escape it. I somehow always find myself at the other end of Steve Palchuk's fist constantly. Especially recently when I decided to be a hero and try to help a kid named Eli when Steve decided he was his target of the week. Since then, I became his target of the _year._

So walking around the hospital with a bandage right above my eyebrow and my hand wrapped in gauze was not an abnormal sight to the staff. No one questioned me and often times they enjoyed seeing me. Especially since when I was younger, I would always try to make the other patients happier by going to random hospital rooms and try to make them laugh with shitty jokes. I stopped doing that after one of my favorite patients ended up passing away when I was ten, but I would still lend a helping hand to the staff if they were too busy to do a random check-in with the less urgent patients. Like if it was someone that just came out of minor surgery or a kid with a broken arm, they would send me in there to just say 'Hi' and keep them distracted for a little bit longer while they would run around with their heads cut off.

"Oh, Jim! Come over here real quick." I gave the head nurse who I've always known as 'Auntie Margret' a smile before heading over to her. It was clear she was going to ask me for assistance since she was swamped with papers and the three phones on her desk were ringing madly. I watched as she pushed the chaos off for a second to give me a quick once over. "What was it today? Fell off your bike or that kid is still giving you problems?" I felt a little uneasy as she gave me a knowing smile. She knew what was going on with me and Steve but she also knew that I didn't want my mom to worry about it. She had enough stress on her plate. I didn't need to add onto it.

"A combination of the two." I gave her a small smile that received a small chuckle from the woman as she shook her head lightly. "I'm guessing you need my help?" I gave her a bigger smile to encourage us to change the topic. She gave me a paper that had a room number, the name of the patient, and the reason why they were here. I didn't even bother looking at it because I knew she would just say what she needed of me and where to go out loud anyway.

"There is a girl your age in room 30A. Her name is Claire. She's here due to a minor crash where she fractured her ankle, nearly broke her arm and had stitches recently. Since your mom is a little busy and so is the other doctors, she has to stay a little longer until one of them can give her the clear to leave. Your mom said something about giving her a concussion test at least before letting her leave. Mind giving her a little company?" I gave her a nod which rewarded me a smile. "Thanks, kiddo." I started on my way soon after the room. I had the wings memorized at this point so I didn't really have to worry about really getting lost.

Once I arrived, I knocked on the door lightly and opened the door with a small smile. Instantly, I was floored by the sight. The girl was certainly near my age from what I could tell. She had black hair that seemingly met her shoulders with a blue streak going through it. Her eyes were an intoxicating chocolate brown that had a small number of freckles that danced directly under them on her cheeks. She had a Papa Skull shirt on with a purple skirt. It was obvious she was hurt enough to go to the hospital with how they had her ankle wrapped up to her caff, a bandage wrapped around her left forearm, and a bandage that was on her right temple. Even with the bandages and wrappings, she was breathtaking.

"Um, do you have the wrong room?" Her voice shook me back to reality. Even though my instant thought was "_Wow, her voice is just as pretty as she is". _

"Oh sorry, I'm Jim Lake. My mom is one of the doctors here. They're all a little busy right now, so they asked me to check in on you to how you're doing." I gave her a smile as I came fully into the room. "I know I look like a patient, I technically am." I gave myself a chuckle to make myself a little less uptight as I spoke. "But I always try to help them out when I can." The girl gave me a small smile.

"So, Jim, why are you here if you're technically a patient?" I walked a little closer and pointed at the bandage on my forehead that mirrored her's with my gauze wrapped hand. "A tiny little scrap with a classmate of mine." She nodded to my statement.

"Oh, sorry you had to go through that. Wait, what school do you go to? I don't think I have ever seen you before." I gave her a smile as I felt more relaxed. "I go to Arcadia Oaks High." I watched as she leaned her head back to the pillow that behind her as she gave me a smirk. Instantly I realized that she went to the academy. "And you're an academy kid." She gave me a nod before giving me a shrug.

"My mom wants me to transfer to Arcadia Oaks High though. My friends go there so my mom says it would just be easier for everyone if I just transfer." I nodded as she spoke. It seemed reasonable. Fewer trips. More time with her friends. "I don't personally like it as the academy anyway. Most of them are stuck up all to hell." I laughed with her on that one. "But since you're here because of a school fight, I'm starting to think the academy can't be that bad." I gave her a small shrug.

"The normal high school isn't that bad. I just got on the wrong side of a kid that's not afraid to get in a little trouble. I think you would like it anyway. Not as many stuck ups." She laughed at my joke and then stuck out her hand soon after.

"The name's Claire. Claire Nuñez." I took her hand with my uninjured one and shook it with a smile. _Nuñez? Why does that sound familiar?_ "So since you're here to help pass time, what kind of things are you into?"

Soon after that, we started talking just normally. We went from talking about school, music, our favorite movies, and our dream jobs. Finding out, Claire was a girl that very committed to her passions. She was dedicated to becoming an actress. I almost got her to go on for an hour just about theater and her favorite plays. Just like how she got me to talk for almost thirty minutes straight about my desire to get a Vespa which she then joked that after I talked about how I was almost always at the hospital that if I had one then I would literally be at the hospital every single day. We ended up exchanging numbers while talking after we both agreed that we needed to speak more after this.

"How did you even end up doing that?" She questioned me as she was laughing through talking as I then gave her an over-exaggerated shrug. "I have no clue! One moment I'm on my bike, the next I'm skidding across the street!"

"And you think you could handle a Vespa better?"

"Yes, yes I do." She shook her head with a smile.

"You're certainly a special one, aren't you Lake?" I gave her a smile as a knock arrived on the door. We both looked over to see that my mom then entered the room.

"Hello there Ms. Nuñez. I see you have met my son, Jim." She walked up and placed a hand on my shoulder. "I hope he didn't give you any problems. We don't need the council woman's daughter feeling uncomfortable."

_Wait. She's the council woman's daughter? No wonder why her last name sounded so familiar! Now things make a lot of sense. The idea of her going to the academy and everything. By the way she acts, I can tell she hates the kind of kids that have the whole "My family has power and stuff so you gotta like me" kind of thing. _

"To be honest? He made this place a lot less insufferable." I smiled at both of them as my mom patted my shoulder.

"Well, I'm glad. Thank you for your help, Jim. You know the routine." I nodded and said my goodbye to Claire and started my way out of the room. "Now your family is in the waiting room for you but before you leave I want to do a quick-" I closed the door lightly behind me and started to make my way to my mom's office.

_I don't think mom would mind if I go there to sneak a drink from her little fridge in there. As she said, I did a good job. Also, I think my throat was dry from the very moment I walked into the room._

* * *

"We're sorry we had to leave you at the hospital sweetie. I had a meeting that was urgent and your baby brother needed someone to be with him." I shrugged it off as I held Enrique's stuffed bunny that once used to be mine before him. I watched him coo with a smile as I gave him the stuffed animal completely.

"It's okay, Mama." I then turned to look out of the window and watch the sunset upon the horizon. I was used to this. A lot of my life was consisting of my mom being _within _my life but also really not. She was like a transparent essence within my life. My father was little more consistent but he was also not always there either. I love both of them, don't get me wrong, but it was as if the last part of my teenage life is going to be mainly raising myself as well as helping to raise someone else. That was another reason why I hated going to the academy. Everyone there thinks it's all sunshine and rainbows to be the child of an influential figure.

_Your mom is councilwoman, right? How is that like? My dad is the mayor of the town so if it's anything like that, you must have a lot of alone time. It must be nice right? For me, it's amazing._

_Council woman's daughter, huh? Not as cool as my dad's job but it's alright. What's that like anyway?_

I hate it. That's why it was such a breathe air to talk to Mary and Darci whenever I can. It was also amazing to talk to someone like Jim.

_"A lot of people think that being at the hospital a lot must be annoying, but I actually enjoy it. My best friend, Toby, likes to joke that it'll turn me into my mom but I actually love helping them out while they can. Might as well help those that are helping others while I'm here, you know?"_

_He was different. _

I smiled to myself as I remembered he smiled and how he had bright blue eyes that contrasted to jet black hair. He was this kind of cute mixture of dorky, sweet, and also kind of cool. For each part, I could come up with at least ten reasons as to why I could say that. Everything from his favorite movie being Gun Robot 3 to the idea that the reason why he got into a fight a school was because he was standing up for a kid that was being bullied.

"Was the stay terrible? Did you just sit there and wait the whole time?" I was pulled out of my thoughts as my mom started to speak again. I gave myself a smile as my mind danced back to a memory of laughing as Jim was talking about how he and his best friend used to try to jump the canal when they were kids. Thinking that they could fly if they went fast enough.

"No, it was actually quite decent." My dad hummed in approval after I spoke. "Well, that's good. How was school today, before the little crash?"

_Oh yeah, the little crash. _I put my hand in my jacket and held tight onto the amulet that was sitting in it's pocket. _Totally was just a little crash._

"Um, speaking of that, when can we talk about transferring me to Arcadia High?"

"Oh? You finally made up your mind on it?"

"Yeah. Let's just say today gave me a lot to think about."


	2. You're My Favorite Person

**Damn this series is going to have long as fuck chapters because I can't help but go back and forth from Claire's and Jim's point of view. I think I'm so used to Jim's point of view that it's going to take me a bit to get used to writing in Claire's. XD But anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this update! It took me a couple of hours. XD **

I pulled on the collar of my white t-shirt as it felt as if it was a boa constrictor squeezing the air from out of my lungs. I was taking glances at the Latina beauty that had captivated me at the hospital not three months prior. I remember her saying that she was thinking about transferring to Arcadia Oaks High School, but I doubted that she would after seeing my condition due to Steve.

_But there she was. I thought she was pretty when she was wrapped in gauze and bandages, but I wasn't ready for her to be breathtaking without them. _

I swallowed hard as I felt a slap on my shoulder. I looked over to my best friend who had a smile plastered on his face. "Dude! Just go talk to her. You did help her out at the hospital, right? She might enjoy a familiar face with the new school and all. Just go say 'hi' at the very least." I rolled my eyes as my friend acted as if he knew what he was talking about. He was always like this when it came to anxious predicaments of mine. He knew it was a lot more difficult than what he said. If it was that easy, then he would have figured out who the mole mascot is that he was so enamored with. I looked back to Claire though and saw that she found out which locker was her's and was fiddling with her combination. I took another glance at Toby who was waving me on with a flick of his wrist back and worth. I sighed and straightened the strap on my shoulder.

"Alright. I'll do it." I took a deep breath and started my way over to her. I put a smile on my face as the distance was basically nothing and I noticed that she was having trouble with the locker.

"Stupid thing." I heard her mumble as she slammed her hand against it.

"It won't open if you're aggressive with it. I found that out the hard way." She turned to me and I watched as a smile appeared on her face after recognizing who I was.

"Jim! Hey! How have you been?" I chuckled and smiled back to her. "I've been alright. Seems like you're having trouble though. May I?" She gave me her schedule that had her comb on it with a smirk on her face.

"Show me what you've got, locker whisperer." I took the paper with a smile as I went up to the locker and put in the numbers, making sure I went around completely to the second to make sure I didn't humiliate myself. I pulled on the little trigger and it swung open with ease. I gave her a smile as I handed back her paper as she gave me an impressed look. "I think it would of legit taken me another five minutes for it to comply with me. Thank you, almighty locker whisperer." We both laughed at that she looked at her schedule once again and put most of the stuff she didn't need into the locker before turning back to me.

"Since I have you, what classes do you have? I wanna know if I'll actually get to see you or not." I rambled off my schedule before she shut her locker with a smile. "That's great! I have four classes with you." I smiled back at her as I waved out a hand to allow her to walk before me.

"Well, if you want I can show you around." She turned around to me so she was walking backward and gave me a playful smile.

"Show me the way, locker whisperer."

* * *

It had been a couple of months since I last talked to the blue-eyed teen that walked into my hospital room to keep me company. I had almost forgotten that he said that he had gone to Arcadia Oaks High School until I saw him down the hallway and I about panicked beside my friends Mary and Darci.

"So Jim Lake was the guy you were talking about? The guy that walked into your room after the, well, incident?" I nodded my head as I looked back over to him. He had the same smile he had plastered on his face that he had when we laughed in the white-painted room. I didn't recognize the kid that was beside him. It was a shorter boy with red hair and a sweater vest on. I was about to wonder how the kid wasn't dying from the heat since it was almost 80 degrees, but I couldn't think anything like that without being a hypocrite as I adjusted my blazer under my backpack straps.

"If you mean incident as of our best friend being nearly killed by an angry purple changeling then yes, Darci, and incident." I looked over to Mary to basically just give her a look that said 'people can hear you' then back to Darci. "What?! I still can't believe what happened. It's not like you've had the amulet for very long, Claire. It still gonna take me time to get used to the whole thing." I gave her a sympathetic look and nodded to what she said. I understood that none of us asked to be apart of the whole Trollhunter thing, but it was still something that we're now destined to deal with. We all made a promise after we realized what the amulet meant and what it would eventually lead to.

_"From now on, we are all Trollhunters. We won't let you deal with this on your own, C-Bomb." I watched as Darci placed her hand palm down in front of her. I then turned to Mary after I saw her hand place itself on top. _

_"No matter what, you're our friend. We're all in this till the end. Well, your end... Or our end. Either way! We've got you back. No matter how absolutely terrifying this is." I placed my hand on top of the small pile we've gathered and given her a smile._

_"Mary, now and then you need to learn to have a filter." _

_"You know that will never happen, C-Bomb."_

"I know. Which is why I'm afraid to approach him." I was lying to myself. I knew that much. Over the few months, my mind would constantly wander to the smile of the broken looking blue-eyed boy, but I wouldn't say it out loud. I knew my best friends had an idea of the impact that he had on me, but I also knew they wouldn't say anything until I would. I knew being afraid to speak to him was more than just me wanting to keep the already beaten occasionally boy away from any more pain.

_But again, I would never say it aloud. _

"Well, how about this? Since he helped you out in need before, why not make it happen again?" I gave Darci a confused look before turning to look as Mary who had a devious grin. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"What are you two planning?"

"Remember how we said we'd show you around?"

"Yeah?"

"Well. Bye C-Bomb!" I watched in slight shock as my best friends basically ran down the hallway giggling like elementary school girls as they looked back at me. I laughed myself when Mary almost tripped over a kid's backpack that was on the floor. But then a small realization kicked in.

_They felt me here. At my locker. In a school with three fucking stories. When I barely know where I entered from. Just magical._

I sighed and turned toward the blue locker and glanced back down at my schedule to make sure I put in the right comb as I spun the dial around. I push on the trigger, but it didn't give.

"You gotta be kidding me." I put it in again and as if it knew I was starting to get frustrated, mocked me with another denial. "Stupid thing." I slammed my hand against the locker as I mumbled to myself. I didn't have the wrong locker number. The thing was just deciding to be a dick. Like most things at my life up to this point.

"It won't open if you're aggressive with it. I found that out the hard way." I turned around at the familiar voice and smiled once I realized who it was.

_Well, can't say they were wrong._

* * *

While showing Claire around the school, I started to get more information on who she was and who her friends were. She said she had two best friends, Mary and Darci, both who decided to ditch her as a joke that she said she didn't want to drive into. When she said their names at the hospital a few months prior, I had no idea who she was talking about and still didn't until history class came around. I offered her to sit in the back with Toby and me, but she said it was the only normal class she had with Mary and had promised to sit by her. That was when I realized who she was talking about.

_She's friends with Mary Wang and Darci Scott? How did I know about her before? I've known those two since grade school. I've known them long enough that Mary even came up with one of her kiddish nicknames for me. She dubbed me "Jimmy Jam" since she knew I hated to be called James and didn't want to push me too far. Mary was more alright with me than Toby though. Darci was friends with all of us when we were kids. It made me kind of miss those days when the social list of high school didn't really matter. _

"Dude, if you keep staring at her, everyone is gonna notice." I shook my head and pulled myself from my thoughts after what Toby whispered in my ear. I hadn't even noticed I was staring until he spoke.

"Sorry, I got-"

"Distracted. Yeah, yeah. Just keep your head on straight, Jimbo. You gotta remember, Miss Janeth wants you to try out for that play right? You gotta keep your grades up to do that." Oh yeah, the promise I made to Miss Janeth. She walked in one time when we had to act as characters from the hierarchy in this class last month as I was portraying a noble. She claimed that I must audition for the 'fall' play since I was able to conduct myself as the character 'quite well for a first-time actor'. So, I promised that I would as least audition. She's kept me to it ever since. I'm afraid to let her down. The idea of three times the homework all of a sudden due to an emotional teacher like her, which also teaches my work class? Yeah. Not gonna let that happen.

"Right. Don't wanna get buried in algebra homework. Don't wanna end up on Miss Janeth's shit list. Stay focused. Got it." I flashed my best friend a smile as Mr. Strickler came into the classroom. I heard a slam of a desk from the front of the room and everyone looked toward the front. I gave Toby a curious look as he just shrugged and placed his notebook on the table. I took a glance over to Claire whose eyes were instantly glued to the teacher.

_Huh, must be one of those straight A's students. Getting more and more out of my league the more I get to know her._

* * *

I noticed the man that walked in instantly and I dropped my binder on my desk at the realization. Mary instantly looked at me as if I was causing a scene. So I ripped out a piece of paper from the notebook in my binder and scribbled a note quickly down it and handed it over.

_'He's apart of the Janus Order. He's Stricklander. He's a changeling. Scribble this out, NOW!'_

I pushed it onto her desk, acting as if it was her's and the 'teacher' began to teach. "Hello everyone. I hope you've had a fine weekend and a good end to your first quarter of the year. From what I was told and can see, there is a new student among us. What is your name, Ms?" I forced a smile onto my face to match the one he gave to me.

"It's Claire Nuñez, Mr. Stickler." I was thanking the heavens at this point that I agreed with Darci that not having something to shield my face while being Trollhunter would cause me problems if anyone knew who I really was. Which was why all three of us wore masks and hoods while we were out. Because right now, if I didn't agree along, one of my most notorious enemies at the moment would know my identity, where I lived, and who I associated with.

_Why did I not notice the similarities in the names? Strickler, Stricklander. I know a lot of the other changelings go by something that is close to their familiar's name, but I didn't know it was that on the nose. Why didn't Mary and Darci say anything? Probably due to how they have just grown accustomed to it, I guess. I wouldn't be too worried about it either if you know that he has no clue about what you do out of school, even if it's being the personal thorn in his side with his plans to break out Gunmar from the Darklands. _

I took a deep breath though and kept my smile on my face as he began to teach soon after saying something to the class that had to do with 'treating the new classmate well'. Maybe if I kept my head down low, did what I had always done at the academy, and stick to my mother's 'best of everything' plan, then I will be in the clear.

_I can hope. At least._

* * *

I had noticed as the day went on and classes went by, that Jim Lake might soon be one of my favorite people. He was dorky, yes, but in an endearing way. He liked to joke and often times I saw him trying to make people that seemed to have a rough day smile. It was obvious that he was decently intelligent and was a little above average in athletics, but he didn't seem to like the idea of bosting, unlike most guys I have encountered. He was sweet and considerate but could match someone's jokes and sarcasm with ease. I noticed this greatly as I watched him and his best friend, Tobias, interact within our gym class.

But what I also noticed was that all of this also made him a target.

I cringed slightly as I watched a taller blonde-haired boy crash into Jim with his shoulder and laughed when he noticed that he actually did some damage. "Oops, sorry Lake. It seems I don't know my own strength." I rolled my eyes at the kid's comment as he then high-fived the other kid beside him that laughed along. I smiled though when I watched Jim pick himself up slowly and dust himself off. Too kind to do anything back, but not forgiving enough to not give him a nasty look behind his back. It seemed as if he had taught himself to bite his tongue when it came to his abuser. As if he had dealt with the situation for long enough to know what causes it to be worse and what causes it to be decent enough to deal with.

It made my heart ache a bit. No one should live that way. Especially the kid that I learned quickly had a bigger heart than anyone else in Arcadia.

I felt a hand be placed on my shoulder and I instantly looked over to Mary who gave me a sad look. "I know. Watching Steve do that stuff to Jim, it sucks doesn't it?" I frowned. "Why doesn't anyone do anything about it?" Mary placed her hand on her chin and rubbed it in a mocking manner.

"Um, let me think here, oh yeah! Because it's social suicide! Also, the last person that did stand up to Steve _was_ Jim. Jim made it clear that if anyone was going to take his harassment, it would be him and no one else. He was very adamant about the idea that if he saw Steve bullying anyone else, that he wasn't going to sit there and watch it happen." She put her hands down in her lap and picked up her phone. Probably to text the new guy that she was love-struck with. "Jimmy Jam has always been that way. Ever since elementary school. You kind of get used to it. It sucks, yeah, but the kid won't let anything change his mind. Trust me, I think everyone that has either watched the worse of it or have gotten to be friends with him have all tried. The kid won't do anything about it though. He's always claiming that no one else deserves that kind of life and that Steve will notice one day what he's doing. But I think that guy has more hope in people than anyone else in the world. Hell, some kids a couple of years back used to joke he was a monk of some kind."

I looked back over to Jim and smiled to see that he was helping a kid that was pushed over by one of Steve's friends. He gave the kid the glasses that fell off his face and gave him a pat on the shoulder before getting back into the little basketball warm-up that the coach was having them do.

"But don't worry, your lover boy is fine. He's always has been." I smacked Mary's shoulder and then instantly acted as if nothing happened. "OW! What was that for?"

"For making assumptions."

"Well, was I wrong?" I glanced back to Jim who now had a giant smile plastered on his face as the kid he helped up was able to make a basket with his help. The kid seemed to be on cloud nine and high-fived Jim with a smile like that of a little kid.

"Maybe not."

* * *

As the day went on, I was starting to think that Claire Nuñez might be the most beautiful person that I have ever met. She was beyond smart as I realized within our history class. Mr. Stickler has always had a way of weeding out new students to see if they would make par with what he deemed was intelligent, average, or struggling. But she took every question he threw at her and answered with ease. It was also clicking when watching that event unfold way her schedule had Advance Geometry instead of Algebra like the rest of our grade. It seemed as if anything that had to deal with academics was her strong suit. I also noticed while talking to and watching her that she was easy going and loved to joke around. Her laugh was contagious. Her smile was infectious. She was caring but knew when to be sarcastic. She was loving, yet also knew when to give hell to someone. I realized that one quite easy with how Mary and her interacted.

_"Claire, I love you tons, but you need to not do that anymore."_

_"Mary, deary, I don't quite give a damn."_

_"Can you two just act like real friends for once in your lives?"_

_"Maybe when she gets her face out of her phone."_

_"HA! Only when __Nuñez here can keep her head out of a book." _

_"So never then?"_

_"Yep!" "You got it, Scott!"_

I laughed at the memory as I opened my locker with a smile. As classes pasted, I was able to talk to the three girls more often. Maybe Claire and one of the other two here and there, or like during lunch when all three of them were present, but it's fun all the same. I was quickly growing accustomed to their interactions and how they matched Toby's and me. All in all, it was turning out to be quite a nice day.

I jumped at the sound of a kid screaming for help and slammed my locker shut before rushing off in the direction of the yelling. What I ended up running up to was Steve Palchuk deciding to shove poor Eli Pepperjack into one of the higher lockers. I rolled my eyes at his actions and walked straight up to him.

"Leave Eli alone, Palchuk." Steve looked me dead in the eyes as he held the locker door in his hands. "What are you going to do about it, Lake?" He smirked as he slammed the locker shut while keeping eye contact with me.

_You little bitc-_

"Get him out of there, Steve. You know that your shit ends with me. No one else." He yawned and leaned against the locker that Eli's in. "You're no fun, Lake. Which is why it gets boring with you. Now and then I need to spice things up a bit. Eli here gives me new ideas." He slammed the locker with the side of his fist. "Isn't that right, Pepperjack?"

"I would gladly appreciate it if you would let me out of here!"

"Fat chance, string bean!"

I clenched my fist and then slowly let it go as I took a deep breath. "Palchuk, I'm not gonna say it again. Let him out of there." I was starting to get eyes on me. I could feel them burn into my back as if they were lighters to a candle wick. I stared the taller teen down as he walked up to me.

"But what are you gonna do about it? Stand there like a little bitch? Or run off as your daddy did?" I felt rage swell in my chest along with the dull ache that always hit when my father was brought up.

"I'm not gonna hurt you. You know that."

"Too bad. I can't say the same for me." I ducked as his fist flew at me. I stepped back as I've gotten used to his flow of fighting.

_Right swing, left swing, low kick, punch. Right swing, left swing, low kick, punch. Jab, jab, left swing, kick, again. _

I tried to keep light on my feet, but it seemed that Steve noticed that I was getting in the swing of things so he decided to grab my arm and twist me around. He held my arm up in a lock as he kicked the back of my knees to make me kneel on the ground. I left out a hiss from the pain as he used his knee to push me forward as he held my arm back in place. I was thinking in my head a way to get out of the stance as a familiar voice seemed to yell from the crowd.

"Let him go!"

I opened my eyes that I didn't realize I shut to see Claire standing proud before the rest of the crowd. Her chest was puffed out and she had a determined gleam in her eyes. I heard Steve chuckle a little before pushing his knee a little more into my back. I gasped at the pain as he twisted my arm a little more. "And who do you think you are, doll?"

"I'm Claire Maria Nuñez and I don't think Jim deserves what you're putting him through." I fell forward a little but was able to steady myself with my free arm after Steve suddenly let me go. When I noticed that he had a smirk on his face and was going to walk up to Claire, I instantly got defensive. I grabbed his leg and pulled it from under him, causing him to fall face first a couple of feet away from her.

"Leave her out of this!" I jumped back up to my feet and swung my arm in little circles to get feeling back into it. I watched Steve put his hand to his mouth before pulling it back to see a small amount of blood. "You broke my mooth!" Steve got himself up to his feet as well and looked to me as if he was a bull and I was decked out in red. "You're a dead man, Leke!" He ran into me and tackled me onto the ground. I put my knee up to his chest level right before impact and used my leg to push him back. He tumbled to his feet and managed to walk right back to me and lift me up by the collar. He dragged me over to the lockers and slammed my back against it. He lifted his fist with anger filling his eyes. I stared at him right back without a hint of fear within my body.

"Palchuk! What in the Lord's name am I walking into?!" Steve dropped me and stumbled to stay on my feet as Coach Lawrence came up to us. "Steve, office. Now!" It seemed as if he was going to bark right back, but he instantly swallowed his words and just gave me a single glare before walking away. "You alright, Lake?" I nodded my head and dusted myself off.

"Nothing a little bed rest won't fix." I gave him a smiled and he gave me a pat on the shoulder in return. "If you say so kiddo. If not, you can always check in with the school nurse before she leaves. She normally only take athletes after school, but just have her give me a call and I'll make it clear with her. Alright?" I nodded my head. "Good." As he walked away, I started looking into each locker.

"Eli? Where are you bud?"

"I'm over here!" I looked down a couple of lockers to see a piece of white paper waving back and forth. I walked over, rather slowly for my normal walking speed, and started fiddling with the trigger. "Alright, Eli. There's a small little silver button in there that you should be able to push. Can you do that?"

"Yeah. Just let me- WHOA!" The poor kid fell face first from the locker but instantly got up to dust himself off. "Thanks, Jim." He adjusted his glasses that were slanted due to his landing. "I know you don't always get away from Steve scratch-free." I gave him a shrug and my usual slope-sided smile.

"It's alright. As long as I'm breathing and there's still a tomorrow, I'll be alright." I felt a hand placed itself on my shoulder and I looked over to who it was to see Claire standing there with a concerned look in her eyes. "Hey. Thanks for trying to get him to stop."

"It's nothing. I doubt he would have done anything to me though."

"I wouldn't risk that." That one got me a small smile from her as she brushed one of the stray locks of hair she had behind her ear. "I know."

"Well, I'll just- Yeah." Was all Eli said before running off. "Thanks again!" I shook my head as the guy disappeared from view.

"He's not a bad guy. He means well." I gave Claire another smile as I closed the locker that Eli fell from. "He just gets a lot of shit from those around him. All because he believes in what other's think is supernatural or mythical." She tilted her head in confusion so instead of forcing her to ask, I just started to explain. "He's claimed to see trolls, goblins, people running around in glowing armor. Just the typical stuff that makes you get labeled as a weirdo around here."

"Do- Do you believe him?" I gave her a shrug. "I have no clue. I try to keep my head more focused on helping my mom out and trying to stay out of trouble. Especially since I made a promise to Miss Janeth and I'll audition for her play."

"You're auditioning for _Romeo and Juliet_?"

"Yup! Why do you ask?"

"Because I am as well." I gave her a beaming smile. "Awesome! I'll have someone to talk to then." She gave me a smile back before her face then flooded with concern. "What?" I just watched her as she pulled a small tissue package out of her blazer pocket and pulled one out before placing it against my forehead. By doing so, she got close enough that I could tell that she smelt of lavender and frankincense. I felt my face flush a little as she placed a hand on my cheek to keep my head steady as she seemed to clean some of the blood from off my face. I must have landed wrong when I fell backward. "There." Her voice was barely above a whisper as she pulled her hands back from my face. All I could do in return was stare at her with a soft smile on my face. She rewarded me with one back as she glanced down at her shoes then back up at me.

I never noticed it before, but she had a small number of freckles that were splattered across her cheeks like they were stars upon her skin. I felt as if I could try to count them until the sun would set within that moment.

_That was until Mary decided to ruin it._

"C-BOMB! I heard that Steve Palchu- I'm ruining a moment aren't I?" Mary calmly stated as she was now right beside a startled Claire who looked as if she could slaughter the teen that was now to the left of her. I felt my face flush at the idea and rubbed the back of my neck with my right palm.

"Not reall-?"

"Holy crap! Palchuk really did a number on you this time, didn't he?" I shrugged.

"He's done worse."

"Don't remind me, Jimmy Jam. Doesn't make it any less wrong." I just gave her a smile.

"Now you're sounding like Claire over here." I then smiled at Claire who just shook her head with a smile on her face. "What am I gonna do with you, Lake?" I just laughed in reply. "I don't know. But when you figure it out, let me know." She just put her hand on her chin and rubbed it for a second before deciding to poke me in the chest. "I'll figure it out once we audition for the play."

"Can't wait then."

* * *

Once I got home, I wrapped my more server cuts from my fight with Steve after cleaning it with peroxide. It stung, but I learned over time that it was the most effective for tiny little scraps. Afterward, I put on some pajamas and laid down on my bed with my hair still wet against my forehead from the hot shower I took to try to get my muscles to ache less. I turned off my light before I placed myself down on the comforter so I used the moment in complete darkness to just close my eyes and think. My mind instantly went back to the little moment I had with Claire and I felt a smile appear slowly on my face.

If I continued to have moments like that, she will defiantly be not just the most beautiful person I know, but also the one that matters most.


	3. Stupid Goblins

**Hello, once again my little oodle lollies! I just wanted to finish this before I moved and not have WiFi for a little bit. I didn't end it the way I wanted to for this chapter, but meh. I wanted to give you guys SOMETHING for waiting so long for an update to this one. But, I do have exciting news if you like a lot of my other work, and that is that I'm making a one-shot series! I already have a couple of ideas that I'm writing out as we speak, but if you guys have any AUs that you guys wanted me to make my own spin on it, PM me! I love hearing what you guys have to say anyway. :)**

**But all in all, I hope you guys enjoy this and sorry for any mistakes my four hours of sleep brain made. XD**

My eyes were fluttering shut and pealed themselves open as I was panting against a random tree in the middle of the small forest near the canal. I pulled the cloth mask off my head and put it in my lap as I put my hand on my side to see that small amounts of blood coming from the wound that I knew was now there.

_Fucking Nomura. Stupid goblins. _

I leaned my head against the bark as I was trying to keep putting pressure on the wound. I knew that it wasn't deadly, but I also knew that if the pressure wasn't applied, it could be. So when the amulet fell off my chest and dropped into my lap, I pulled a long piece of cloth out of my pocket that I kept there for a situation just like this and placed it against the wound before tieing it tightly around my waist. After that, I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and called Darci, the one that was out with me tonight on the sweep, to tell her where I was.

"Darc?" I said with air being difficult to grasp as the pain set in my system.

_My God, this one hurts._

"Claire! Where are you? Send me your phone's coronets. Remember how we did that?" I gave her a grunt in reply as I went into my settings and sent her where it said I was. "You're in the forest? What in the hell just happened? Why are you there?" I heard the wind come from her end of the phone which meant she was rushing to where I was.

"Just chilling." I tried to laugh at my own shitty way of trying to lighten the mood but I ended up just coughing instead. "God this one hurts all to hell."

"No! I thought it fucking tickled, Nuñez. I'll be there soon. I'm only a couple blocks away. Stay on the line so I know that you're alive." I leaned my head back with a smile.

"No, I was going to hang up and leave you to thinking I was dying." I could tell she was shaking her head at me. "Just stay on the line and make sure you're alone."

"You got it, Scott." I twisted slightly so I could see over my right shoulder to see that no one was there and then twisted again to look over my left. I instantly leaned back completely against the tree. I saw a figure walking through the trees as if it was searching for something. "Darc? Someone is here. I can't tell who it is."

"Fuck! Um, stay quiet and lay low. Keep pressure on where ever your wound is and I'll be there. Just say low." I took in a sharp breath as I heard the laughter from the figure in the distance. I watched as the figure started to come into my view. I noticed instantly that the form was nothing like the ones that were chasing me. I still wasn't sure what it was so I made myself sink lower against the tree to try to make myself less noticeable.

"Atlas! Where are you, buddy?"

"Jim, I swear to God if you lost your dog. Again!"

"Hey, he's not my actual dog. But someone's gotta take care of him."

_Fuck times three._

"Hurry up Darc," I whispered into the speaker of my phone.

"I'm trying, Claire, I promise. I'm entering the forest now, hold tight." I leaned my head against the bark once more and placed my hand against the wound. I watched as what I knew was now Jim and another familiar voice walk-on pass without a hitch. I let out a breath that I didn't even realize that I was holding until their figures disappeared from my sight.

"Claire?" I smile meekly to Darci as she kneed down to my level on the ground with a worried look etched into her face. "Hey there Darci. Wonderful weather tonight, huh?" She instantly took my arm and placed it over her shoulder and lifted me up slowly. I groaned as I felt pain pulse through my skin and rattle my head. We started our way to Troll Market as I started to get an earful from Darci.

"Are you insane? Nomura could have killed you! Combining that with how she had the goblins at her will, you would have been distracted like a deer in headlights as she cut you down swift and easy. This could have been bad, C-Bomb. We're lucky you're not dead."

"I feel like it would be so much better if I was." She smacked my hand that was over her shoulder as she helped me down the canal. "What was that for?!"

"Say that ever again and I will kill you myself."

* * *

"What were you thinking?! Running out there after that changeling without any support, Fair Claire is something a Trollhunter at your level must think twice about before running blindly into action." I winched as I felt Darci stitch into my side with the first-aid kit that her, Mary, and I agreed on hiding in Blinky library just in case of situations like my own. I was biting down on a towel to keep myself from screaming as Darci needed as much concentration as possible. She was used to having to do minorly intense first-aid due to her dad that's a police officer that claims that anything that isn't a bullet hole is "just a scratch". Which makes it wonderful right now when I need a few stitches from the glaze of Nomura's blade.

"You're done. You know the rules, no over the top athletics for a couple of days, place Blinky's goop on it or whatever it is to make it heal faster, and I'll take it out in a couple of days." I nodded my head as I pulled the bundled up towel out of my mouth.

"Thank God! I don't think I could have taken being your push pin anymore." I slowly brought myself to a sitting position to look both her and Blinky in the eyes as I lowered my shirt to cover the small number of stitches that will definitely lead to another scar. "I'm sorry guys, but she was kind of trying to kill me. I would have rather run off and not let anyone that shouldn't see what was happening than fight her in the almost broad street light. We don't need people seeing a silver armored figure with a sword fighting a tall purple creature. People will start doing night watches or something." I watched Darci sigh and placed her hand upon my shoulder.

"You just gotta be more careful, C-Bomb. We gotta make it to at _least _junior year before you're severely hospitalized." I laughed lightly at her words which caused a small amount of pain to spread from my newly enquired woven friends in my skin. "Hurts?" I guess my face gave me away as I nodded meekly.

"You must get home to rest then, Fair Claire." He handed me a container that I was rather accustomed to being given whenever I was in Troll Market. It's some form of adhesive that Troll-kind had created to help mend cracks within their stone skin, but when we decided to test it on ourselves, it seemed to have the same effect in a way on human skin. It caused bruises, cuts, and gashes the girls and I had enquired over the last few months to disappear within minutes, hours, or days mattering on the severity. Hell, Mary broke her wrist and due to her placing her arm in a wrapping soaked in this stuff and placing it on a pillow overnight and she was as good as new by daylight. Blinky would talk a lot about how it usually takes trolls _weeks _or even months to heal with the concoction but he guesses it must be within the idea that we're not as immortal seemingly as they are.

"Thanks, Blinky. I'll try my best. When should we get the stitches back out, Darc?" She gave me a shrug with a smirk on her face.

"Maybe you just need to let it heal on its own. Don't need the stitching getting stuck in your skin." I sighed heavily and over dramatically fell backward on the makeshift table we made. "Oh stop it! You should be able to put the stuff on it for a couple of hours, clean it off and take the stitches out yourself before going to bed. You're just lucky we didn't have to actually go to the hospital. They would have put stables in or something." I pushed myself gently back into a sitting position with a small smile on my face.

"Yeah, I know. I'm lucky I have a best friend that knows what she's doing. Those first-aid classes and helping your dad out has really paid off, huh?" I felt her nudge my shoulder with a playful punch.

"Yeah, you definitely are. You owe my ass, Nuñez."

* * *

"Dude! Darc called me one last night after she got home. Are you alright?" I smiled at Mary as I shut my locker with a soft click.

"It was a bitch getting the stitches out when it was healing a lot faster than I thought it would. I'll have a scar though." We started our way to Mr. Strickler's class as my head started flooding back the previous night's events.

_"Get the Trollhunter!" I jumped through the window of the museum and rolled onto my feet before dashing off into the forest not far behind it. I checked over my shoulder after I jumped over a small stream and kept running through the trees. When I came to a clearing, I decided to stop and check my surroundings with my sword now out and ready to slash if need be. _

_God, I wish I didn't follow Strickler to that stupid museum. I should have waited for at least Darci to meet up with me before going after him. _

_Out of nowhere, I heard the sound of a light whistle of a song. I knew it all too well. It was the one that haunted me before when a certain changeling had chased me before. "__In the Hall of Mountain King," I whispered to myself as I shifted my eyes over the open area quickly as I got into a fighting stance. I heard ruffling over my shoulder so I turned just in time to be welcomed by a tall and vicious purple changeling jump at me with a wicked smile on her face. I put up my sword in time to shield myself from a blow to my chest as she knocked me onto my back as she pushed down against my sword.  
_

_"Hmm, a masked Trollhunter? This one is new. Much a small one too." I pushed back with just enough strength to throw her off me to then roll over my head and push back onto my feet. I put my sword back up in front of me while keeping my eyes on Nomura. "A silent one too, huh?" I watched as she toyed with her blades, spinning them before having the handles placed in her hands with ease. "I'll change that soon." She dashed at me with her right arm aiming to slash across my chest, but I lifted my sword to block and push back on her actions. I swung my foot low with it aiming for her ankles, but she jumped sideways and sliced at my side. I was able to move almost completely out of the way, but the tip of the small sword sliced through my exposed skin on my side. I backed up a few steps and placed a free hand on my side to see that a small amount of blood was there when I pulled it back into sight. I looked back up to Nomura to see she had another smile on her face as she was spinning her blades around again. _

_I need to get out of here._

_I shifted my eyes back and worth as I took a few steps back from the towering changeling. I smirked under my cloth mask as I noticed there was a tree branch above her head. I put the sword back on my back, jumped up and grabbed the branch, and then swung my feet to hit the changeling right into the chest. I swung myself completely over the branch and landed on my feet. I looked up to see that the force of the swing actually caused Nomura to land on her back. I took this opportunity to run back into the forest. _

I shook my head as we entered history. I was lucky I could get away from Nomura. I still have to ask Blinky how I was even cut through the armor of the amulet. It made no sense to me. I was punched by Bular and sent through the sky without any harm to my body, but I get slashed at by a changeling with a human-made small sword and I end up with stitches in my side with an additional feeling of like I'm dying. When Mary and I sat down in our desks and I noticed that Stickler's normal sachel wasn't on his desk, I released a breathe that I wasn't aware I was holding. I did not want to deal with that man so soon after him claiming he was going to take my amulet off my cold dead body.

"Your mood literally just switched after realizing Mr. S isn't here. Is it because of last night or due to how you forgot to study for the test we were supposed to have?" I sighed and put a hand through my hair.

_Jesus, I've never been this forgetful until this week. I need to keep up with school and everything. Especially since mom is letting me audition for Romeo and Juliet. It would look out of character to randomly not want to act out of nowhere when I was begging for the right to audition since middle school. It would even be worse if my grades start slipping. My parents are keen on me keeping my straight A's. I start slipping there, and everything else will follow._

I felt a pat on my back and looked over to Mary who had a small smile on her face. "It's gonna be alright, C-Bomb. I think Blinky will be okay with you taking the night off of being on patrol." I gave her a smile before I looked over to the door after I heard a laugh I had grown accustomed to recently. A smiling Jim was jokingly punching Toby's shoulder.

"Dude, it seems you lucked out. It seems Stickler isn't here."

"Thank God. I forgot to study last night. I don't need another hit to my grade." I laughed a little at the two of them as they went to their seats.

"Man, maybe the two of you are perfect for each othe- OW! What was that for?"

"Shush, Wang."

* * *

Later on in the class, we were being shown GunRobt 3 as Coach Lawerence, our substitute for the day, was leaning back in Stickler's chair. He didn't seem to care what we were doing, especially if we were talking and or sleeping. So Mary and I just kept in a small conversation with ease.

"Wanna know what you should do?" I looked over to Mary with an eyebrow raised. "You should ask Jim out." I about burst out laughing as I covered my mouth with my hand to stifle it.

"Mary, I love you tons, but I'm going to barely be able to juggle the play and school with Trollhunting," I whispered back. "Also, I've only known him for what? A month without the whole gap of talking in the hospital?"

"Yeah, so? It's as if you already have that boy wrapped around your finger. Hell, I think if you asked him to join the play, he would." I rolled my eyes. "Here, I'll help."

"What are you-?"

"Coach Lawerence! Lake took my seat!"

_I wanna die._

I instantly buried my face into my arms that were crossed on top of the desk as Mary gave me a shit-eating grin.

"Lake! Give Wang back her seat." I heard Mary walk away, but I was too embarrassed by my friend's actions that when I heard the seat beside me shift I kept my eyes buried as I spoke.

"I'm so sorry for Mary. She's being a little bit of a dick at the moment."

"It's no big deal. Toby's been the same way." I turned my head to see Jim smiling down at me. I already knew I was a sucker for his bright blue eyes since the moment I saw them, but even in the darkroom where the only light was coming from the movie on the overhead projector, they somehow seemed to glow.

_How in the hell can someone's eyes be that attractive? Just how? And that's not even questioning how they can be so bright without much light. I swear this boy is not human. It would make much more sense._

I smiled to myself as I then remembered what Mary had said not long before.

_"I think if you asked him to join the play, he would."_

I pulled myself completely out of my arms and leaned over to rummage into my bag to see a folded up poster that I got from Miss Janeth when I asked her about auditions.

_Maybe if I'm going to be stressed all to hell, I might as well try to spend some time with the possible alien._

I turned to Jim with a smile as I handed him the poster. "There's a play that's going to have auditions soon. I was talking to Miss Janeth who is going to be the director and she said she would need a lot more guys since a lot of her main actors graduated last year. Maybe you'll be interested? It'll give us some time away from our favorite pains." I heard a small chuckle come from him as he took the poster with a smile similar to my own.

"I might just take you up on that," I watched as he folded it up and placed it within his jacket pocket.

_I swear to god, you are definitely a fucking alien or something. It would make so much more sense if you were a changeling or something._

_Wait. _

_PLEASE DON'T BE ONE OF THOSE FUCKERS! It would make sense because no normal human should make this effect so fucking easy, but PLEASE NO._


End file.
